Who Needs a Prince?
by A. Zap
Summary: Belle and Ella have left their Princes. It seemed like their happily ever afters were a bust. Then, their paths cross and it looks like things start looking up. Could this be their second chance? BellexCinderella


_Disclaimer: I do not own _Beauty and the Beast_ or _Cinderella_.__ I don't have the money to buy those movie rights from Disney._

* * *

Who Needs a Prince?

Belle was almost sorry to leave. She loved her friends: Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Chip, and all of the other servants. She adored the library. But she couldn't stay here anymore.

She really loved Adam. Okay, the transformation from a beastly creature to a human had been a bit of a shock at first, but she had thought that he had been the same kind, gentle person that she had gotten to know.

Soon after their marriage though, Belle started to see why an Enchantress had turned him into a beast in the first place.

They used to spend the evenings together, reading. However, that had tapered off and just the other night, she had discovered the reason: he was cheating on her.

Despite reading in books about how royals tended to sleep around, nothing had prepared Belle for the reality. She had thought that Adam had loved her too.

Then again, the spell never really specified that he had to love her in return.

Now, one divorce later, Belle waved good-bye to her friends, promising to write, and mounted her horse, Philippe, and left.

She didn't really care where she went as long as it was far from here, and besides she had enough from the divorce that she could do anything she wanted.

* * *

Ella finished wiping off the tables in preparation for shutting down her restaurant. She looked around her place and couldn't help but feel quite a bit of pride.

She thought that after the magical night they had shared and he helped her leave her stepmother's house, she and Henry or "Charming" would settle down and have a wonderful life.

Sure, they had settled down, but there had been nothing for her to _do_.

After spending her life going from doing one thing to another, that had been really hard.

The breakdown of their relationship had been slow. Quite simply, she hated having nothing to do, the servants would always chase out her animal friends, and he was never there for her.

Thinking back, she had realized that he would have taken anyone who fit into her shoes.

Not exactly a reassuring thought.

But that was all behind her now. As a condition, she had wanted a place of her own, which was the restaurant she now owned. She lived in the rooms above it, and though she still cooked and cleaned like she did in the old days, it was on her own terms.

With her little friends, she didn't need anyone else and she was content.

* * *

Belle dismounted from Philippe and looked around as she led him to the community stable. She was in a quaint little town; in some ways, it was similar to the town of her youth. She quickly looked around for a place to eat.

Her gaze fell upon a small restaurant, _The Glass Slipper_. Luckily, it was still open.

"Hello?" Belle entered the restaurant, feeling a small spark of dèja vu.

"Welcome!" Out from the kitchen came a cheerful looking blonde with bright blue eyes. On her shoulder, two mice dressed in clothes were perched. "Have a seat! My name is Ella."

"Nice to meet you. Thank you." Belle took a seat and peered at her surroundings. It was near closing time, so she was the only customer.

"So, are you traveling by yourself?" Ella asked with a tilt of her head. "That's unusual."

"Yeah, I just… underwent a separation, so everything's a bit up in the air." She replied, and after taking a glance at the menu, she gave her order.

"I know what that's like." Ella commented through the window that connected the dining area with the kitchen. "My husband never figured out that Cinderella was a nickname, not my actual name."

"Ouch." Belle gratefully took her food as it was brought to her. Ella sat down in the open chair.

"So you're basically just wandering? Do you have any place to stay?"

"Yes, I don't want to bother my father. In terms of places to stay, is there some place here in town?" Belle looked up at her companion.

"There is an inn, but if you want to stay here a bit longer, you can stay here. I have an extra room." Ella looked momentarily surprised with herself for offering, but she was smiling.

It only took Belle a moment to decide.

"Thank you; I'd love to stay here."

* * *

Ella loved Belle's company. It was nice to have a friend that could talk back.

She was a hard worker, which Ella could appreciate. Belle always made sure to do her fair share around the restaurant as thanks for letting her stay, and she also ended up helping the community by starting and running a library. With the money from her separation she could buy all the books she wanted and she was kind enough to share them with everyone.

From Belle's perspective, she also loved spending time with Ella. Her no nonsense attitude helped ground her when she started getting lost in books and Belle admired the love that Ella put into everything she did. She fulfilled her dreams with her own power. At the same time, Ella showed kindness to the less fortunate by providing food at her own expense.

Neither of them noticed their growing feelings for the other. After all, they had gotten their happily-ever-after endings that the old tales spoke of and those had fallen through.

After all, if they weren't happy with princes, there was no way they could be happy with anything else.

* * *

The first time they kiss, it's an accident.

Ella had come to visit Belle at the library. The ladder Belle had been on started to topple over, and as Ella tried to catch her, their lips had met.

They had kissed for a few seconds before they had each sprung back, faces bright red.

Once they had turned away from each other, both of them had softly touched their lips, wondering about how the action had felt right.

Slowly, they had given each other soft, fleeting touches when handing each other things in the library or restaurant. This was followed by handholding in the marketplace. Finally, lips, hands, and their bodies met each other in the dark of the night.

Pretty soon, Belle stopped using the extra bedroom.

One night, as they lay together, they talked about their stories, of fairy godmothers, shoes, talking objects, and roses.

Their stories may not have ended the way they thought they would, and this time there may not have been any magic involved, but this result was one that they had come to themselves and they were happier for it.

And besides, who really needs a Prince?

* * *

_AN: Oh, I am so going to hell. I wrote this for a fanfiction contest that the anime club I'm in had last school year. The theme was writing a fanfiction for a couple we couldn't find fan art or Tumblr pages for, as long as the characters were in the same universe. We decided the Disney animated movies were in the same universe. Anyway, I decided to write one where 2 of the Disney Princesses got together, which is why I'm going to hell. At least I won the contest. So enjoy!_


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